Did vampires really exist? Description of vampires

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

Today, there are a large number of various legends about various mythical creatures. To this number, mankind began to attribute myths and legends about vampires and vampirism in general. Only the question of whether vampires actually existed is still open.

Scientific justification

Like any other mythical creature or object, vampires also have a scientific basis for the birth of various folklore works with their participation. According to most researchers, the word "vampire" and information about all its properties began to appear in the lower mythology of European peoples. It is also worth paying attention to the fact that there are vampire people in other cultures almost all over the world, but they have their own names and individual descriptions.

A vampire is a dead person who gets out of his grave at night and starts drinking the blood of sleeping people. Sometimes attacks awake victims. These creatures appear before the victim in the form of a person, practically no different from ordinary people, and in the form of a bat.

Ancient peoples believed that vampires were people who createda lot of evil. This contingent included criminals, murderers, suicides. They also became people who died a violent premature death, and after the moment when the vampire bite was made.

Literary representations and film images

In the modern world, vampire people have become widely known to the public through the creation of numerous mystical films and books. Just pay attention to one important fact - the mythical image is slightly different from the literary one.

Probably, at first it is worth saying a few words about the works of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin "The Ghoul" (poem) and Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy "The Family of Ghouls" (the writer's early story). It is worth noting that the creation of these works dates back to the 19th century.

The well-known writers mentioned above recreated the horrors about vampires in a slightly different way - the appearance of a ghoul. In principle, ghouls are no different from their ancestors. Only this image does not drink the blood of any people, but only relatives and closest ones. As a result of this, if you can call it that, pickiness in food, entire villages died out. He also gnaws on the bones of people killed or died of natural causes.

The most plausible image was able to embody in his hero Bran Stoker, creating Dracula. You can turn to the history of the creation of the image and the history of the world at the same time - a real living person became the collecting image for the writer's work. This man was Vlad Dracula, the ruler of Wallachia. Basedfacts of history, he was a rather bloodthirsty man.

Characteristic features of artistic vampires

As mentioned earlier, the artistic description of a vampire is different from the mythological one. And then the creatures as they are portrayed in literature and cinema will be considered.

Features:

1. Dead creatures do not consume human food, water. Their main food is blood.
2. Fear of sunlight. It is for this reason that the dead go out to hunt only at night. During the day they rest in their graves and dark places. They may appear outdoors during the day if fully protected by dark clothing.
3. No shadow, no reflection in mirror, water, glass. There is a possibility that vampires will not appear in the photos.
4. In the house only after the invitation. If no one invited the blood lover to the house, then he cannot enter it. Received an invitation - can come and go at any time.
5. Coffin and native land. In some works, the emphasis is on the fact that the vampire must return to his coffin, his grave before dawn. Although some representatives take earth in a coffin when moving or on other necessary occasions.

6. 

   Relations with werewolves. Today, many people know that werewolves are the enemies of vampires. But in some stories you can find that werewolves become vampires after death.

7. Garlic, symbols of the Christian faith (holy water, church, crosses, etc.). In thatfolklore and literary image coincide in their description. For example, a cross. The vampire is very afraid of him, like the other items listed above. For protection, you can use this item, which is what the heroes of many films and literary works about vampires do.
8. Killing a vampire. Most often, this procedure is carried out using a wooden stake in the heart, consecrated or a silver bullet, using cremation or decapitation. Sunlight is also deadly to them. In films and books, you can see the murder with the help of church items. A small cross can be of benefit to a vampire victim. The vampire in this case may be injured or even killed.
9. Love for the account. Very rare, but you can find such a feature. This idea was taken from folk beliefs about vampires. If a lover of human blood sees grains on his way, he will definitely stop and start counting.
10. Also, in some films, there are events when a vampire unties knots. It was also taken from folklore. For example, in the movie Dracula 2: Ascension, the main characters, in order not to be bitten by a vampire, pour a bag of peas on Dracula and then throw a net of a large number of knots. And he counts the peas and unties the knots in one motion.
11. Fangs. Since the release of the Dracula movie in 1958, most vampires have been portrayed with fangs.

Analogues of a vampire in other nationalities

Horror about vampires existed not only in the folklore of the peoples of Europe, but also in other ancient cultures. Only they have others titles and description.

• Dahanavar. This name originated in ancient Armenian mythology. Based on mythological data, this vampire lives in the mountains of Ultish Alto-tem. It is worth noting that this vampire does not touch the people who live in his territory.
• Vetals. These creatures belong to Indian stories. Vampire-like creatures inhabit the dead.
• A lame corpse. The Chinese analogue of the European vampire, only the first one does not feed on blood, but on the essence of the victim (qi).
• Strix. A bird that stays awake at night and consumes human blood as food. Roman mythology.

Also, the question of whether vampires actually existed was raised at different times among different peoples.

Vampire controversy

There have been cases in history when a hunt for a vampire was announced. This happened in the 18th century. On the territory of East Prussia, starting in 1721, complaints from residents about vampire attacks began to appear. The reason was the strange murders of local residents. The most interesting thing was that the bodies of those killed were bled.

After these cases, the famous scientist Antoine Augustine Calmet in his books raised the question of whether vampires actually existed. He collected the necessary information and wrote a treatise on these cases. Many scientists began to ask this question, began to open the graves. It all ended with the ban of Empress Maria Theresa.

Modern Vampires

There are a large number of folkstories, myths, literary works, films about vampires. Everyone knows that these are fictions, but the influence of fiction and mythology, figuratively speaking, gave vampire blood to some modern people. These representatives are members of one of the many subcultures of our time - vampirism.

People who think they are vampires act like fictional blood-sucking creatures. They dress in black clothes, arrange their own events, and also drink human blood. Only the last action does not apply to killings. Usually the victim gives away part of himself so that modern vampires, if I may say so, can eat.

Energy vampires

The question of whether vampires actually existed is being asked by many people. With a greater degree of probability, we can say about the existence of real vampires from an energy point of view. In other words, about the existence of energy vampires.

These creatures are people who feed on the energy power of other people. An ordinary person replenishes energy reserves in accessible ways: food, entertainment, watching movies, etc. But energy vampires lack this, they also feed on the energy of other people, worsening the condition of their victims.

Conclusion

You can talk for a long time on this topic, but all this will remain unconfirmed. In this world, many facts remain outside the bounds of modern science, and these myths and stories will also be just guesses and conjectures. Moderna person can only read interesting mystical literature and watch films, reflecting on these issues.